


merlin, you’re a star.

by autoheart



Series: i don’t wanna dance [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-07 19:32:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16414559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autoheart/pseuds/autoheart
Summary: “You’re a star, in nobody’s eyes but mine.”Arthur teaches Merlin to use a bow and arrow. To defend himself. It’s not an excuse to be around him. It’s not like he enjoys spending time with him. It’s not that.





	merlin, you’re a star.

He hadn’t expected Merlin to be good at anything physical. All evidence pointed towards the negative. He was rubbish with a sword. The same went for wrestling, especially since Arthur outclassed him in weight. He was a passable rider, a better runner (which was to be expected with his twig-like figure), but you could forget about even _handing_ him a mace. He had no business being good at archery, but it was worth a try.

“Arthur, why are we doing this?” Merlin groaned as they trudged out on to the training field.

“Because I want to be able to defend yourself, _Mer_ lin,” Arthur huffed, tossing the quiver of arrows on the ground before jogging over to the hut where the equipment was kept. Merlin walked behind him, slowly, as though he were approaching the gallows. “You get the bows. I’ll set up the target this time. You’ll angle it all wrong.”

Merlin sighed and mumbled something about how Arthur never complained about the angle when he set it up for the knights.

“Why do I need to _defend_ myself, Arthur? I always thought you had that covered,” Merlin said, pausing before adding, “You lot. You and the knights.”

“But what happens if all of us are incapacitated?” Arthur grunted, dragging out the target.

“The knights of Camelot all incapacitated and I’m somehow the one left standing?”

“It could happen.”

“It’s about as likely as you learning how to tie your own boots,” Merlin rolled his eyes.

“I _can_ tie my own boots, Merlin, but we wouldn’t want you out of a job, now would we?”

“Right you are, _Sire._ I just think this is all a bit mad.”

So did the other knights, and Morgana, as would Uther, if he knew about it. But training was the closest thing to leisure time he had as crown prince, or at least the closest thing to leisure time he could share with Merlin. Who was his servant. Who wasn’t his friend. He pushed thoughts of what he would be doing with Merlin instead of this, if he wasn’t a prince, if Merlin wasn’t his servant, if they were just two men that lived in the outskirts of the kingdom who could do with their time what they would. It didn’t help to think about it.

“Just come here,” Arthur said, walking the proper distance from the target. “Have you ever nocked an arrow?”

“When would I have had to do that?” Merlin replied, picking up the bow as though it were a dead animal, disgust painting his features.

“Come. Watch.”

Merlin came to his place next to him, his arms hanging uselessly at his sides, his bow dangling from his hand.

“This,” Arthur said, bringing an arrow to the bowstring, “is the nocking point.”

He looked to make sure Merlin was watching, which he was. “Then you just-“ he raised the bow, took his mark, pulled back the bowstring, and released, hitting the bullseye first try. He tried to suppress a sigh of relief. Not that he had to impress _Merlin_. Not that he had, he added mentally, after turning around triumphantly to see Merlin stood there with his eyebrow cocked, looking very bored.

“Just like that, yeah?”

“Just like that. Your turn.”

“Shouldn’t I have like a.. Thing?” Merlin asked, gesturing to his arm.

“A thing?”

“A guard-y thing?”

“A bracer? Maybe, if we had any that would fit your scrawny arm. But we haven’t got any fitted for children at the moment, so you’ll just have to be careful. I did it without one and I’m fine.”

He didn’t secretly hope Merlin would snap his arm and get a nasty welt. He didn’t secretly hope he would have to show Merlin how to dress it, run his fingers over Merlin’s raised skin as he applied a salve. He didn’t. Secretly.

“Yeah, but you’re all-“ Merlin trailed off.

“I’m all what, _Mer_ lin?”

“Manly and athletic and whatnot.”

Arthur didn’t puff up with pride at his words. He didn’t.

“You’ll just be careful, yeah? Now, your go.”

Merlin stuck his tongue out at Arthur before going to stand where he stood.

“Feet are wrong,” Arthur said, standing next to him. “Like this,” he modeled.

Merlin repositioned himself. Still wrong. His front foot was slightly out of line with his back.

“No like-“ Arthur let out a frustrated breath. “Here.”

He stood behind Merlin, pausing for a moment before he placed his hands on the other boy’s hips, aligning them, then used his own feet to gently kick Merlin’s into proper stance. Merlin drew in a quick breath of surprise. “Like that. Nock your arrow.”

Arthur’s hands fell and he took a step back.

“I’ll knock you,” Merlin mumbled, fumbling with the arrow. He brought it up, the elbow on his drawing arm too high.

“No, no, that’s- Bloody hell, Merlin, were you watching me? Drop the damn thing. Don’t” Arthur said, forcefully, “move your feet.”

He resumed his spot behind Merlin, taking the other boy’s skinny wrists in his hands.

“This arm like this, and this one like this,” he said. He wasn’t breathless when he spoke, he didn’t notice the way Merlin’s back was flush against his chest, it wasn’t even a passing thought. It wasn’t. He made sure Merlin’s elbow wasn’t pointed at weird up angles. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Merlin breathed. Said. Of course, he was breathing, he was alive after all. But he wasn’t breathy. Neither of them were. They just didn’t have to be loud right next to each other was all.

Arthur released him and walked around to face him, picking up the bow so Merlin wouldn’t lose his footing when he bent down. He handed it to Merlin.

Merlin looked like he was actually putting an effort in, but his elbow was still too high. Arthur lowered it, pressing it down with one finger. Which he guessed he could of done before.

Merlin raised an eyebrow at him, annoyed.

“Just.. try not to miss the target, don’t worry about the bullseye for now.”

“I’m not _worried_ about anything,” Merlin grumbled.

“Just shoot.”

Arthur lined himself up behind Merlin, eyeing his aim the best he could from several feet away. There was no way he was going to make it. He was setup to overshoot by a mile. Arthur smiled to himself.

Merlin pulled back, hesitates, and released.

The shot was impossible. The sound of wood cracking rang out across the field and Merlin’s arrow split Arthur’s down the middle.

“Merlin!”

Merlin turned around, smiling devilishly.

“Merlin, how?” Arthur yelled, jogging to the target to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating.

“Magic,” Merlin joked, walking over, dripping with nonchalance.

“Not funny, Merlin,” Arthur said, pulling the arrow out and watching his wrecked one fall to the ground in pieces. “You’re a damned natural, you ass. You’re _good_ at something.”

“Beginners luck. Does this mean I don’t have to train anymore? Since clearly, I can defend myself,” Merlin asked, taking the arrow from Arthur and twirling it lazily in his fingers.

“I mean.. I suppose,” Arthur said, deflating. “I mean we should try again to make sure it wasn’t a one off.”

Merlin jogged over and set up to shoot again, his footing wretched as it has been at the start.

“Don’t shoot while I’m over here!” Arthur yelled, running out of the way. “And your footing is wr-“

Merlin sent the arrow whizzing towards the target, hitting bullseye again.

“Wrong,” Arthur finished, in awe. It wasn’t incredibly arousing that Merlin could pull that off even in atrocious form. It was infuriating. But not attractive.

“We’re done, then?”

Arthur stood, dumbstruck.

“Arthur?”

“I guess so,” he managed, slightly disappointed. He had looked forward to an afternoon fumbling about the field with Merlin. “Put your bow away.”

“Do you have anything you need done?” Merlin asked on the way to the hut, falling so easily back into the role of servant and master. Arthur supposed he never fell out of it. That was just him. And only in his mind.

“No, you’re free to go,” Arthur said as he took down the target.

“You know, Arthur…” Merlin said, pausing in the door of the hut. “You know, if you wanted to spend time with me…”

“What?”

“That’s what this really is right? You don’t think anyone is really buying the whole defend myself thing, right? Especially not me,” Merlin smiled. “As if you’d let me.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“If you’d gotten your arm cut off in a battle, you’d sew it back on yourself to fight anyone who attacked me before I even had time to string a bow. I know that. Everyone does.”

“You can’t just reattach an arm, Merlin.”

“I know. But you’d try. Arthur, if you want to be my friend you could just-“

“Just what?”

“I don’t know. Ask? Anyway, I already am. You think I would be out here if I wasn’t?”

“Is that what this is?”

Merlin smiled.

“For now, yeah.”

“What do you mean for now?” Arthur asked, his cheeks burning.

“It means we’re friends. For now.”

He wasn’t hinting at anything else. The smirk on his lips didn’t hint at anything else. It _didn’t._

  


_***_

 

Morgana and Gwen sat at the window, watching the two idiots in the field put away their equipment.

“Is anyone going to tell them?” Gwen asked, resting her forehead against the wall.

“What? That they’re mad for each other?”

“Yeah.”

“Like they’d listen if we did.”

“Merlin might,” Gwen said, hopefully.

“Oh, he already knows. Despite what Arthur thinks, Merlin catches onto things quickly. They’ll figure it out.”

“I just hope it’s before Arthur decides it’s time to teach him to throw knives,” Gwen said, with a chuckle.

“Don’t we all.”

 


End file.
